On 14 March, EuropeOn’s Policy Advisor joined colleagues from the Electrification Alliance for a meeting with Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. The main goal was to discuss the crucial role of electrification for Europe’s clean transition, competitiveness and to make energy prices more affordable.

The meeting centred around the Clean Industrial Deal and the Affordable Energy Action Plan. The Electrification Alliance welcomed the inclusion of a 32% electrification KPI while emphasising the need for a stronger focus on electrification as the clear path to climate neutrality.

 Electrification Alliance members stressed the urgency of accelerating flexibility measures, promoting efficient, regionally tailored network tariff designs, and ensuring fair market mechanisms to drive clean electricity consumption.

Besides, workforce shortages were also a key concern, with calls for state aid to support skills development. EuropeOn urged the European Commission to effectively address workforce shortages, as having enough qualified workers is a necessary condition for Europe’s electrification.

Action to address workforce shortages was at the core of EuropeOn’s message to Commissioner  Jørgensen. EuropeOn emphasised that while the EU has increasingly recognised the need to act on this skills dimension of the energy transition, filling the workforce gap still requires more attention. The upcoming European VET Strartegy must make it a priority to increase the attractiveness of technical education and bring more people into green jobs.